Energy Policy and Technology Analysis

The group’s core focus is on long-term integrated energy,
environmental, and economic analysis using the MARKAL family of models,
a well-established tool for energy systems analysis. With 30 years of
development under the auspices of the International Energy Agency,
MARKAL has approximately 100 user institutions in more than 50
countries. A bottom-up analysis with explicit technology representation,
the models include a physical description of energy technologies, and
allow for “well-to-wheel” comparison of technologies and technological
pathways. They study the impact of technological change/progress on
energy markets, and provide a technology-rich basis for estimating
energy dynamics over a multi-period horizon. They use a bottom-up
approach to identify an optimal technology/resource mix to meet demands
in an integrated energy market and identify the most cost-effective
pattern of resource use and technology deployment over time. .

An original developer of MARKAL, the group is currently working with
five MARKAL variants:

Single region U.S. Model

10-region U.S. Model

15-region Energy Technology Perspectives (ETP)
Global Model

New York City Model

Multi-region Long Island Model (under development)

The group also provides MARKAL training and assists in new model development.

Recent Projects

Government Performance and Reporting Act (GPRA)
Benefits Analysis

Annual assessment of the U.S. Department of Energy’s
RD&D portfolio.

Frequent quick “turn around” analysis for the DOE
Office of Policy and International Affairs on U.S.
energy policy proposals.

Energy-Water Nexus

Global Biofuels Study

U.S.-India-China Cities

This project establishes a network for U.S. and
Indian municipalities to share best practices on energy, environment and
sustainable development. BNL is working to establish a network of U.S.
and Indian municipalities to collaborate on the issues of mutual
interests based on clean development, energy and environment, and share
the lessons learned from every city’s experience to augment other
participating cities capabilities. They hope to identify and respond to
a range of barriers that limit implementation and management of
sustainable urban development practices and plans. Atlanta and Ahmedabad,
signed a MOU on March 13, initiating a first-ever US-India cities
partnership on energy and environment. Participating Indian cities
include Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Bhubaneswar and
Vadodara. Participating Chinese cities are Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hefei,
Kunming, Ningbo, Tianjin and Beijing.

Mission

Conduct long-term integrated energy, environmental, and economic
analysis using the MARKAL family of models

Group leader

Paul “Chip” Friley

Group Contributors

Thomas Alfstad

Vatsal Bhatt

Jun-Ki Choi

Alessandra Coli

John Lee

Dipti Ranjan Mahapatra

Evan Pack

Savvas Politis

One of ten national laboratories overseen and primarily funded by the Office of Science of the
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Brookhaven National Laboratory conducts research in the physical,
biomedical, and environmental sciences, as well as in energy technologies and national security.
Brookhaven Lab also builds and operates major scientific facilities available to university, industry
and government researchers. Brookhaven is operated and managed for DOE's Office of Science by Brookhaven
Science Associates, a limited-liability company founded by the Research Foundation for the State
University of New York on behalf of Stony Brook University, the largest academic user of Laboratory
facilities, and Battelle, a nonprofit applied science and technology organization.